Put the red jerseys away.
Tonight the Jets quarterbacks will have their road whites on an invitation for defenders to come after them and take their best shot. After four months of wearing the red jerseys which signify no contact the Jets quarterback competition goes live tonight against the Lions.
Mark Sanchez gets the first crack with the starters but coach Rex Ryan said rookie Geno Smith will get some plays with the first team too. It’s unlikely anything will be decided tonight but one of the quarterbacks can gain some separation.
Ryan said he’s curious to see how the quarterbacks respond in a real-game situation. The Jets coaches have not seen how Smith reacts when a defensive lineman cracks him in the mouth. They could find out tonight.
“I think you learn a lot” Ryan said. “Now obviously in college they get hit too but they’re going to get hit in this league. There’s no question about it so we’ll see how they react. [And] that’s something I’ve said that we really haven’t seen yet because they know they’re in a red jersey [and] you’re not hitting them. So those guys will be hit this week.”
For Smith this is the realization of a dream. Even though it’s preseason Smith will be in an NFL game for the first time reaching a goal he had as a child.
“It is [a big moment]” Smith said. “My first NFL game. My first official NFL game. But at the same time I’m going to go about it as I always do business as usual. I’m going to try and just take care of every single aspect of it from the time we step onto the plane to the time we get off the plane to the time we step on the field until it’s time to go home.”